What's With My 5-week Old Chick?

[Coop Z-ville]

Ok so maybe my experience will help solve your problem. I was watching my chickens dustbathing in my flower beds. My cat snuck around the corner and scared my birds from their dust bath. Mean while the girls bolted up and shook off the dirt. But the rooster stumbled around. Like he was drunk. I seriously thought he was going to just roll over and kick the bucket right there. So I'm trying to catch him, while he is sorta stumbling from me still. Then he stopped and shook his excess dirt off from his bath. Then proceeded to dart off like nothing happened... no more stumbling. I kept and eye on him for like a week. No signs of disorientation or anything out of the normal. It wasn't until a week later, my hen did the same thing after a dust bath. Again after a few mins. She shook the extra dirt off and was back to herself. The only thing I could figure out. The extra weight from the dirt wasn't distributed evenly. Causing them to be slightly off balance. Hope that helps!

That does help a lot. That was probably what it was. I can't believe how weird chickens can get when dust bathing! Ginger (formally Ginger Pye) perhaps feels the heat more than the other 2 with more feathers. Maybe the cool, damp sand felt good and she was totally spaced out. I did disturb her suddenly, as I thought she was stuck under the ramp! And she did have a lot of damp sand stuck to her.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They can be gangly at that age, but I would take time to observe her walking (compare her gait to the others). Also look at her leg alignment - could be the angle of the photo or you just caught her in a funny stride. See if her right leg falls behind the other one when she walks and if the joint is turned outward when she stands flat footed.

 

[Mmanist]

They can be gangly at that age, but I would take time to observe her walking (compare her gait to the others). Also look at her leg alignment - could be the angle of the photo or you just caught her in a funny stride. See if her right leg falls behind the other one when she walks and if the joint is turned outward when she stands flat footed.
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I would check its leg and gait also. After seeing that picture again!

I had someone bring me a seabright hen, with a twisted/ or broken leg and a scalped head. I called her Wonky. She was truly a wonky bird. She reminded me of a song from the 90s "U can't touch this" by MC Hammer.

 

[Coop Z-ville]

I checked her walk this morning. Seemed fine, so that must have been a picture catching her at an awkward moment. Her gait is the same as the others.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I checked her walk this morning. Seemed fine, so that must have been a picture catching her at an awkward moment. Her gait is the same as the others.

That's a good thing!

I would just watch her for a few days, she may have just got up a little funny after dust bathing.
See that she's eating her chick starter and drinking well. You could always track her weight weekly so you know if she's gaining. Some birds are a little slower to mature than others.

 

[Coop Z-ville]

Thank you. I will watch her and monitor her growth. She is always the first to the food dish and the last to leave, and is drinking along with the other 2 chicks. She will probably turn out to be the prettiest of them all when her feathers come in.

Hearing everyone's thought and experiences has made me feel much better! Thank you all!

 

[Coop Z-ville]

Well, she is 9 weeks old now, and is the funniest looking chick ever. She eats, drinks, and poops normally. She is super active, running faster than any of the other chickens. She can get up onto the roof brace on the pen, which is above my head. She, and her two same-age chick friends, are fully integrated with my 3 2-year old hens, and all is going well. She just isn't as big, nor does she have the feathers that the other two chicks have. She has some feathering, but a lot of baby fluff still, so she constantly looks like she's having a "bad feather day." I guess she is just a slow developing chick. Don't know if it the breed or just an individual thing.

 

[yakitori]

It sounds like what I call “drunk on dustbathing” When my birds dust bathed for the first time, they were totally drunk when getting up. There was one late straggler to the party who had to end her bath early because everyone else was leaving. She kept flopping over on her side as she struggled to keep up with the others, it was quite hilarious.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Well, she is 9 weeks old now, and is the funniest looking chick ever. She eats, drinks, and poops normally. She is super active, running faster than any of the other chickens. She can get up onto the roof brace on the pen, which is above my head. She, and her two same-age chick friends, are fully integrated with my 3 2-year old hens, and all is going well. She just isn't as big, nor does she have the feathers that the other two chicks have. She has some feathering, but a lot of baby fluff still, so she constantly looks like she's having a "bad feather day." I guess she is just a slow developing chick. Don't know if it the breed or just an individual thing.

Well now...you gave an update, but no photos of the Funniest looking chick ever!
Can you get some photos?

I'm glad that she's doing o.k.

 

[Coop Z-ville]

Here are some pictures-not very good, as she is constantly moving! I think the funniest things she has going right now are no tail feathers, a crazy half-feathered neck, and all the baby fuzz sticking out between her feathers.